#pg&e

[deadpresidents]

Every minute of my 2023 has been spent without electricity so far.

But at least there's nothing going on that would interest a historian like, say, a Papal funeral being presided over by another Pope for the first time in historical memory. Or a rare contested election for Speaker of the House that is not only a disastrous, newsworthy mess for the incoming Republican majority (as I immediately predicted following Election Day in November), but has featured the added bonus of spineless Kevin McCarthy having his ambitions crushed and getting publicly humiliated over-and-over again.

It's a good thing I'm not missing anything like that, right?

I guess I should feel lucky since Pacific Gas & Electric's legendary incompetence and notorious customer "service" hasn't killed anyone this time around. But there's plenty of time for that to still happen if PG&E's repairs continue at their current pace.

Happy New Year!

[sweetfirebird]

So I live like, smack in the middle of the California wildfires-mostly-caused-by-PG&E-negligence zone, and PG&E's solution to the problem while they slowly, slowly, slowly, allegedly, replace all the old lines and pipes and shit that haven't been replaced in 70 or more years *screams internally* is for this safety shutoff thing. Basically, if a branch or idk a piece of garbage touches a powerline wrong, the whole thing shuts off. Then they come out, investigate, turn it all back on.

This is to prevent wildfires. I get it. It's happened three times so far this month and the month is barely halfway through and we have the rest of our long summer (through October, usually) to go.

*screams externally*

[californian-odyssey]

Before and after the power went out lol! Idk what it is but California has been having a lot of blackouts lately. But luckily it was only 3 hours. Had lanterns, candles, portable chargers, and several guns to make it though the night if I had to 😆

[auxryn]

I was listening to The Dollop history podcast about PG&E. I kept thinking about this quote:

“The Earth is not dying-it is being killed. And the people who are killing it have names and addresses.”

— Utah Phillips

Actually, I think about that quote a lot. I think the lesson is that you can't rely on police or government to protect you when people with money, power, or authority come after you. We need to protect ourselves, and each other.

[justwalkiingthedog]

Pacific Gas & Electric - Are You Ready? (1972)

[swan-orpheus]

Don’t know how long the power will be on this time, but hello!

And welcome to the fellow Andor fans who friended me!!!

That was intense. There is not a better word for it. I could not sleep until the winds died down. Bill was perched half on my head and half on the pillow growling at the thunder rumbles. My mother said that it reminded her of lying in bed during a hurricane as a child, living in Florida, except without shutters and awnings to protect the windows. 

[whimsicallywiddershins]

I also want to add that when big companies cut costs, people die. I'm from California, and everyone knows that PG&E (the big power company) is responsible for many many wildfires, because they don't maintain their power lines, and because they never spent more money to bury the power lines. People have died in those fires, entire cities get burnt down.

Also, what many people don't know, is that PG&E poisoned the entire town of Hinkley, CA. They used a chemical called Chromium 6 to prevent rust on their power plant, and because they didn't use proper safety or disposal practices, it got into the water and killed a lot of people, slowly, over time. They lied to the town, saying that the plant was safe. They tried to use lawyers to keep it quiet but it did get out. Almost every single person in town had some sort of sickness, from cancer to bone problems, miscarriages, to nose bleeds ect. Tons of workers got sick and died. Hinkely is a ghost town, no one lives their anymore. Watch the movie Erin Brockovitch for more information, it's very good and is based on the people that sued PG&E and brought the information to light.

This only happened about 30 years ago. Pacific Gas and Electric poisoned an entire town and barely anyone knows about it.

i’m catching up on tsv, i think something that eskew prod does extremely well is using horror absurdism to capture the absurd horror of capitalism. it’s clear in eskew too, but i think it’s especially fantastic in the silt verses. the casualness with which sacrifice is discussed. how red lobster has a god that has and continues to take human sacrifice, and so do cereal companies, cops, and the grueling start up that has a “fun room”. it captures EXTREMELY well how it feels to live under capitalism, that you’re constantly bombarded with horrible things, discussed cheerily in a nice tone. the way it’s simultaneously numbing, hysterical, and horrifying. i think i was especially fond of how in ep 39, protest against sacrifice was taken as radical, a propostorus, idealistic thing that’s just so SILLY it’s not even worth considering, something that feels very real to revolutionary organizing/protest irl. i also liked how despite the face, when everything gets down to it, when everything is about profit, all people come down to are bodies. all capitalism is a gaping maw, and it eats the poor and marginalized first, but doesn’t STOP eating just there. the very literalized version of this, where the profit wheel (and all that includes— war mongering, the prison industrial complex, wage labor, etc) is given a very real literal set of teeth, but the body count is the same. so the electric company has a god, and so it takes humans sacrifice. do real electric companies not have a very real human cost? overworked and underpaid labors looking to make rent, or well off comfortable employees no less likely to get the axe under profit margins, or the blood shed when colonizing in the first place, in clearing the space for the electric company to move in. is that not also a very real human sacrifice? the commercial aimed at elderly people talking about “back in my day, we would just talk about all this human sacrifice and find a compromise :)” is so bleakly hysterical, but is that not very accurate? that you can put a good face on it, but in the end what it comes down to is that you’re being sold the chance to be human fodder? that there is no glory or honor on a battlefield or in working yourself to death, just mud and shit and bodies to throw at problems. idk! i’m rambling but it’s a deeply engaging podcast.

[baybelletrist]

What’s that you say? PG&E is still incompetent? I’m shocked, shocked, I tell you. 

[underwhelmingalchemist]

This isn't even getting into the rolling blackouts and price gouging.

As for the rolling blackouts: It'll be 100+°F outside, sometimes getting into the 110's, and that means a lot of AC running in a lot of houses. This puts a lot of strain on the power grid. This happens literally every year without fail.

So their solution? Rather than actually prepare for and urgently upgrade to accommodate the massive heat wave that happens LITERALLY EVERY YEAR, they just... turn people's power off. It'll be 113°F out, and your power will just go out, robbing you and the entire area around you of any form of heat relief. Unless you leave the area entirely or find a place that has working backup generators that they're using to power their AC, you're fucked.

Of course, this is dangerous for reasons related to heat illness, but this is also dangerous for anyone who relies on electricity for medical reasons. Whether it's someone with at-home devices that keep them alive or someone who's extremely sensitive to heat, disabled people get severely fucked over by these blackouts.

And then there's the price gouging. Access to electricity is absolutely a basic human necessity, ESPECIALLY when that electricity is the only barrier between you and temperatures that are 100+°F. And PG&E takes that basic human necessity and makes it cost hundreds of dollars a month. Price hikes are fairly common as well. A quick glance at Reddit will show you people who live in fairly average sized houses talking about receiving bills for $500+ for one month's worth of power. My family lives in a four bedroom house, and we've received bills upwards of $600. Luckily, we're in a place financially where we can weather something like that (not easily, but we can), but many people aren't.

And of course, this is all completely unchecked because apparently, if you charge $15 for a bottle of water during a natural disaster, that's price gouging, but if a power company charges $500+ for a month of AC during temperatures that stand a very good chance of incapacitating or killing you if you're exposed to them for too long, that's absolutely fine.

I also feel like I need to emphasize that PG&E is a monopoly. If you live in California, you're getting your power from PG&E, full stop. Literally everyone in California despises PG&E, a company that's literally razed a good chunk of the state, but we still have to give them hundreds of dollars every month.

Anyways, fuck PG&E

it was weird living outside california for the first time and learning that in most locations people DON'T have personal beef with their electrical utility??? massachusetts was like "eversource: it's fine? i don't really think about it." meanwhile i'm pretty sure everyone in california loathes pg&e passionately

[royaltea000]

can you tell that I’m artblocked

[3-aem]

wonderful tiny interactions.

The guy at the post office couldn’t care less about proof of residence he was openly shouting ‘mam do you have anything to prove you live at this address’, before whispering ‘i don’t actually care’

and as i was scrolling trying to find an energy bill he just looked over my phone went: OKAY GREAT and handed me my package with a quiet don’t tell my boss

[dickensianenglishbulldog]

I have found that as a book’s style seeps into my vocabulary I stop being able to identify it and end up just saying ‘ooh jar cum spiff’; ‘lud, Man!’, ‘rem accu tetigisti’; ‘buggerit, millennium hand and shrimp’ and ‘righto chief!’ strait faced and without noticing. My friends think I’ve cracked, and honesty perhaps I have.

[shadowtriovibes]

where there's smoke, there's firewhiskey

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x f!MC x Garreth Weasley

Word Count: 2.1k

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: aged-up characters, established relationship seb x mc, underage drinking (by today's standards), recreational drug use, shotgunning, references to threesomes

Summary: request: "imagine a modern au, where parties are more like our idea of them and not, y'know, victorian england. And getting high, drunk, or both, at a party and running into literally any one of the boys and just acting like horny college kids. Seb fits this idea best in my head but kinda sorta lowkey I could see Garreth being a stoner LMAO." (predictably, i decided that three heads are better than two)

"What are we doing?" you whisper. "Having fun," Sebastian answers cheekily. "It's a party, we're allowed to have a little fun." "Doesn't have to be serious," Garreth chimes in, still pressing wet kisses to your neck. "In fact, it's usually better if it's not."

On nights like tonight, you’re quite proud to be a Hufflepuff.

You may have only been at Hogwarts for less than two years, but it didn’t take long to learn that all too often, your house is the least loved. Ravenclaws have their intelligence, Gryffindors their bravery, and even Slytherins their cunning, but what have you Hufflepuffs got?

Well, tonight what you’ve got is the honor of hosting the best party you’ve ever been to.

As soon as dinner had ended, your cozy, comforting common room had been completely transformed into a raucous den of teenage misbehavior from one last blowout party before your N.E.W.T.s exams start next week. For hours your classmates have taken turns sneaking sixth- and seventh-years from other houses in small groups down past the kitchens and through Hufflepuff’s massive barrel entrance until it felt like just about all your classmates were here.

There’s Muggle music blaring on someone’s contraband stereo across the room and some N.E.W.T.s-level Potions students are delightedly combining wizarding spirits with Muggle mixers and passing them out to members of a very thirsty crowd — in the pursuit of knowledge, of course.

Predictably, you’re already in Sebastian’s lap. All night he’s been unabashedly charming you into taking sips of Firewhiskey from his own bottle, wary of whatever has been bubbling away in Sacharissa’s cauldron.

Your boyfriend has turned you into a big fan of Firewhiskey. Every time you take a sip of the cinnamon-spiced spirit, you feel its warmth spread from the very top of your head down to the tips of your toes and everywhere in between. It’s sweet, slightly spicy and way too easy to drink whenever Sebastian offers you the bottle by its neck.

Now you’re tipsy and warm and perfectly content to sit with him in an armchair by a tucked-away fireplace on the far end of the room.

Plus, he looks so bloody fit in the varsity Quidditch jacket that Imelda had gifted members of the team at the end of the season that you can barely stand to take your hands off his broad chest.

Between your murmured conversations and occasional aimless kisses, Sebastian teasingly announces, “Looks like your friend’s just arrived.”

“Who, Natty?” you ask hopefully.

“Garreth,” he says instead, and you’re immediately suspicious of the way he’s smirking at you.

“What’s that look for?” you ask him.

He pointedly ignores your question and instead waves Garreth over. Across the room, he’s just climbed into the common room with a group of other Gryffindors, looking artfully disheveled as always.

He perks up when he notices you and quickly weaves his way over to the sitting area you and Sebastian had claimed. Your boyfriend disappointedly lets you climb off his lap so you can greet Garreth and give him a hug.

“Want to sit with us?” you offer. “Sebastian’s got some whiskey if you’d like some.”

“I’m alright, thanks,” he says kindly, taking a seat on the couch across from Sebastian. “But I’ll join you anyway.”

You wouldn’t dream of telling Sebastian, but over the years you’ve always maintained a slight crush on Garreth. You love Seb, you’re mad about him and you hope you’ll be together well after your tenure at Hogwarts ends, but still… That harmless crush persists, and it makes your heart race a little whenever Garreth smiles at you across his potions station or compliments your spellwork in Charms.

It doesn’t help that he’s generally a massive flirt.

“Are you sure you don’t want a drink?” you offer after chatting with him for a while. “Everyone’s been getting boozed-up for hours.”

“I’m not much of a drinker,” Garreth admits. “But I’ve got my own stuff.”

Reaching into the pockets of his trousers, Garreth pulls out a small wooden box and flips open the lid. From inside he pulls out a small, thin strip of parchment and a small bag of what looks to be ground-up leaves.

“What have you got?” you ask curiously.

“Mallowsweet,” he replies, and sure enough, when he opens up the bag and tips some of its contents into his hand, you catch the magical herb’s familiar honey-like scent.

“Why?” you ask, and Garreth raises an eyebrow at you.

“You can smoke it,” Garreth explains as if it’s obvious. “It’ll loosen up your inhibitions just like alcohol. Have you never had Mallowsweet like this before?”

“No,” you admit. “I’ve really only used it for completing Merlin Trials, and Professor Garlick is surprisingly strict about how much she lets me grow.”

“It’s not her fault, the Ministry’s been trying to make it a controlled substance for years now,” Garreth explains. “She can’t let students have too much, but if you buy some off Timothy down at the Magic Neep, he’ll give you as much as you want.”

“And then you just dry it out to smoke it?” you ask, peering at the small, dried-out pieces of leaves in the palm of his hand.

“Yeah, that’s easy enough to do myself,” Garreth laughs. “All you need is a quick-drying charm and then it’s ready to smoke.”

You watch as he takes the small piece of parchment and tips the dried Mallowsweet onto it, and then he places the paper on the low table in front of you and carefully rolls it into a thin, cigarette-shaped joint. Finally, he seals it by licking along the exposed edge and pressing it closed.

“Got a light for me?” he jokes, placing one end in his mouth.

You roll your eyes fondly and gently tap the tip of your wand against the end of the joint. With a quick spark, a small flame jumps to life and the joint lets out a thin tendril of smoke.

Garreth takes a long drag and as he exhales, he murmurs, “Thanks, love.”

The pet name makes you blush, and you hope it’s not visible in the low lighting of the party.

“You want to try some?” he offers. “I think you’d like it.”

“What’s it feel like?” you ask curiously.

Garreth pauses for a beat to consider before he tells you, “For me, it’s really calming. It kind of… turns my senses down, if that makes sense. Everything gets quieter, and less hurried.”

“That sounds really nice,” you say softly. “But I haven’t ever smoked anything before.”

You watch Garreth’s gaze drift down to your mouth, lingering a little longer than he’d usually be able to get away with. “Maybe I can help you.”

“You should shotgun her,” Sebastian suggests, and you startle, guiltily remembering that he’s still seated a few feet away in that armchair, watching the two of you with a keen look on his face.

“Yeah?” Garreth asks. “That’s alright?”

“It’s a party,” Sebastian says with a shrug. “I’m alright with it if she is.”

“What’s that mean, ‘shotgun?’” you ask skeptically. “Like how Everett chugs Butterbeers from the side of the can?”

“Not that kind,” Garreth laughs. “It’s more like… I’ll take a hit, and then when I breathe out, you’ll breathe in.”

You frown, confused. Garreth just smirks and offers, “It’s really easier to just do it than explain.”

“Sure, yeah,” you agree. “Go on then.”

Garreth lifts the joint to his lips again and takes another slow drag, holding his breath at the top while he sets the lit joint down in an ashtray on the table. Then he gently grips your chin with one hand and pulls you in like he’s going to kiss you, but before he does, he taps on your bottom lip with one long finger so you’ll open your mouth.

His lips just barely brush against yours while he carefully exhales smoke into your mouth, and thankfully your soft gasp breaks your trance and forces you to inhale that same smoke. It tastes slightly sweet on your tongue, as the name suggests, but pleasantly herbal as well.

“Hold onto it for a moment,” Garreth murmurs, his lips still touching yours. “Then breathe out.”

You count to five in your head and exhale. The smoke dissipates in front of you, and as soon as it clears, you’re staring right into Garreth’s warm brown eyes.

“Sebastian,” he says, his gaze still fixed on you. “You’re not going to curse me for this, are you?”

“Go on, Weasley,” Sebastian drawls. “She wants you to.”

You want to offer an excuse, an apology, anything in response to Sebastian’s obviously correct assumption. Instead, you just lean into Garreth a bit closer and suddenly he’s kissing you, one hand still cradling your jaw.

He’s an excellent kisser, you think. You’ve only got Sebastian to compare him to, and he’s brilliant at it by your standards, but kissing someone new is so thrilling. Especially when it’s Garreth, who’s not only charismatic and glaringly fit but always so sweet and gentle with you.

Your eyes drift shut as Garreth kisses you deeper. He presses his tongue alongside yours and you taste more Mallowsweet, with a little bit of pumpkin juice.

While you can’t see him, you hear Sebastian stand up from the armchair and take a seat next to you on the couch, his larger form blocking you in and shielding you and Garreth from anyone who might glance your way from the common room.

He rests a hand dangerously high up on your thigh and leans in close to your ear to murmur, “You’re an awful liar when you have a crush, d’you know that?”

You whimper softly and Garreth swallows the sound.

“Don’t worry yourself, love,” Sebastian laughs quietly. “I’m better at sharing than you give me credit for.”

Garreth starts to kiss his way down your chin to your jaw and you tip your head back a little. Sebastian’s right there to drag his hand through your hair to coax you into leaning back even more. You moan softly when you feel the redhead suck a small bruise into your skin.

“What are we doing?” you whisper.

“Having fun,” Sebastian answers cheekily. “It’s a party, we’re allowed to have a little fun.”

“Doesn’t have to be serious,” Garreth chimes in, still pressing wet kisses to your neck. “In fact, it’s usually better if it’s not.”

You scoff and tell him, “That is officially the most Garreth thing I’ve heard you say all evening.”

While you and Sebastian are hopeless fools for each other and have been for ages, Garreth’s reputation is that of a perennial bachelor. He goes on lovely dates, and if the rumor mill is to be believed, he’s an excellent shag. But he genuinely appreciates being single for now, especially so close to graduation.

“W-well, um…” you stutter. “How much fun are we talking about?”

“How much do you want?” Sebastian asks, his hand on your thigh sliding higher underneath the hem of your skirt.

“We haven’t ever – y’know,” you hiss. “With someone.”

Garreth sits back and grins cheekily at you. “I have.”

“That’s not surprising, Weasley, you’re kind of a slag,” Sebastian smirks. “Who was it then?”

“Bit personal, don’t you think, Sallow?” he responds.

“You’ve just had your tongue in my girlfriend’s mouth, I think we’re well past any sort of modesty,” Sebastian counters, and you could not possibly be any redder, you think.

Garreth leans over to the table and lifts his joint to his slightly-swollen lips to take one last long pull before answering.

“Fine, it was Adelaide and Nerida,” he admits ruefully. “Bit of a package deal, those two.”

“You’re foul,” you laugh, but then Garreth slides his hand up your other thigh and suddenly you’ve got two of the most handsome boys in school boxing you in, each with a hand up your skirt. Any thoughts you’d spared for Hogwarts gossip go straight out the window.

“We should, um… Maybe we should go somewhere more private,” you suggest, still keenly aware of the party going on just feet away.

“Everyone’s down here for the party,” Sebastian suggests. “The dorms upstairs have got to be pretty empty right now, wouldn’t you think?”

“Can confirm,” Garreth agrees.

Reluctantly, both boys let you go and you smooth your skirt back down, standing up with wobbly legs. You hadn’t realized before, but the Mallowsweet has firmly taken effect on your system.

“Feeling alright?” Sebastian asks.

“Yes, I… I feel quite good, actually,” you murmur. “Really good.”

“She’s crossed,” Garreth laughs, affection clear in his voice. “Mallowsweet and Firewhiskey, now there’s a dangerous combination.”

“I feel warm,” you tell them. “All over, just warm and relaxed and…”

When you trail off, Sebastian asks knowingly, “Has it got you feeling a bit hot under the collar, love?”

“Yes,” you whine. “Really hot.”

“Sounds like you could use our help to cool you off,” Sebastian suggests. “Shall we?”

“After you, mate,” Garreth laughs.

As Garreth trails the two of you up the stairs to your dorm, you hear Sebastian mumble, “You’re bloody well right, after me.”

[checkeredflagsandshit]